The Plaza Building project is a 86,000 sq. ft. 5 storey building which will be located immediately adjacent to the east side of the Student Centre. Providing badly needed additional space for the University, the building will be clad in copper, limestone and glass, and will create an exciting new major entrance to the east side of the campus.

The ground floor will contain a significantly expanded Campus Store, public washrooms and a direct link to the Student Centre. The second and third floors will contain academic offices, computer labs, classrooms, seminar rooms and washrooms, and will also link to Student Centre on the second floor. The upper two floors will contain research facilities for the Lifespan Development Research Centre.

This project is an excellent example of ‘value added design’. Three separate and relatively small projects (new bookstore, academic space, research facility) were strategically combined and located to provide maximum value to the University. Not only were construction costs reduced, but thoughtful site planning (in conformance with the Campus Plan) has resulted in a clear urban design solution and the creation of a major entrance from the parking lots on the east side of the main campus. This is the first new development along University Road , which is the likely location for development when Brock University expands in the future.

The project is an example of environmentally responsible architecture and has been designed in accordance with the LEED Canada-NC 1.0 Rating System which recognizes leading edge buildings that incorporate design, construction and operational practices that combine healthy, high-quality and high-performance advantages with reduced environmental impacts. It is anticipated that this building will be LEED certified when complete. For more information visit the Canadian Green Building Council: http://www.cagbc.ca/index.php

In addition, the building will incorporate an innovative and energy efficient approach to heating and cooling the building by utilizing the cores of the concrete floor slabs as radiant heating and cooling. For more information: http://www.termodeck.ca/

The architects are Brian MacKay Lyons of Halifax in association with Rounthwaite Dick and Hadley of Toronto. Brian MacKay Lyons and his partner Talbot Sweetapple are internationally recognized architects specializing in institutional, urban and residential design. For more information on the architects, follow the links: http://www.mlsarchitects.ca/ and http://www.rdharch.com/